When Chicago’s Bound Stems (QRO spotlight on) morphed into Like Pioneers after a Bound Stemmer moved to St. Louis, pseudo-debut Piecemeal (QRO review) added alt-country to their literate indie-pop. With follow-up Oh, Magic, the group goes more in the direction of garage – but a better garage.
The lower-fi attitude on Oh, Magic begins at the beginning with low-tech fuzz at the start of opener "Champion", but then the piece builds into pop/rock – and so does the record. Instead of just redoing the tired garage shtick that a million acts are doing these days, Like Pioneers use it for something more. The stripped-to-rhythm "All Wrapped" gets bigger, "Good Neighbor Policy" goes world-weary, while the following "Tell ‘Em Ghost" flips into a cheerier outlook. There’s darkness on the record in the tragic, ominous "National Spectre" (you can’t tell whether tragedy happened or whether it’s coming, but you know that it’s there), but also brightness in back-to-back "On the Morning of His Farewell" and "Requiem For Some Band", those two with vocals reminiscent of the fine pipes of Conor Oberst (a.k.a. Bright Eyes – QRO live review).
Oh, Magic never really overwhelms, and even the catchy indie-pop of "Boggs" isn’t really a single. Instead, each piece fits with each other for a rewardingly put together record.
MP3 Stream: "National Spectre"
